Tom Perriello

Executive Director for U.S. Programs, Open Society Foundations

Tom Perriello is executive director of the Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Programs, which supports efforts to advance equality, fairness and justice with a focus on marginalized communities in the United States. Perriello has dedicated his career to organizations and campaigns fighting injustice, climate change, economic inequality and crimes against humanity. Prior to joining Open Society, Perriello served as CEO of the Center for American Progress Action, a cofounder of Avaaz.org and FaithfulAmerica.org, and an advisor to the Reverend James Forbes’ Prophetic Justice Principles and the International Center for Transitional Justice. As a member of Congress (VA-05), Perriello supported landmark legislation, including the Affordable Care Act, the DREAM Act and climate and stimulus legislation. In his 2017 campaign for Virginia governor, he advanced robust policies for addressing the racial wealth gap, reproductive health, resurgent monopolies and corruption. He also served in the Obama administration as special representative for the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review and as U.S. special envoy to the African Great Lakes Region. Perriello has taught at the University of Sierra Leone and the University of Virginia School of Law on human rights and transitional justice. Perriello is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School.

The Mission of The McCain Institute at ASU is to advance leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity, in the United States and around the world.